Evaluation of the UNESCO/Swedish International Development Agency Project, ‘Strengthening Science Technology and Innovation Systems for Sustainable Development in Africa’, 2020-2022.

United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) hereby invite qualified companies to submit sealed tenders as follows:

This request for proposal is for an external evaluation of the pilot project entitled ‘Strengthening STI Systems for Sustainable Development in Africa’ funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The evaluation will be conducted in line with the UNESCO’s Evaluation Policy 2022 -2029 in the six pilot countries involved: Republic of Congo, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, and will cover the period 2020 to 2022. It is intended to meet both UNESCO and Sida’s evaluation requirements. The results of the evaluation are expected to lead to a strengthened theory of change, and enhanced indicators to measure impacts from a results-based management perspective. The evaluation should be conducted by a team made up of at least one senior evaluator and at least one subject matter expert with broad experience in evaluation and science programming. Collectively, the consultants comprising the evaluation team should possess the following mandatory qualifications and experience:

• Lead evaluators and technical experts with relevant advanced degrees (Masters or PhD) in the social sciences
• A lead evaluator with extensive experience (10+ years) in the evaluation of STI policies or frameworks, and/or capacity-building projects involving STI policymakers
• A technical expert with extensive experience (10+ years) in working in Africa in science, technology and innovation policy (or a related field).
• A lead evaluator with experience (5+ years) evaluating development-oriented projects
• A lead evaluator with experience (5+ years) working with UN organizations
• A lead evaluator with experience (5+ years) undertaking evaluations with a diverse group of stakeholders (researchers, government agencies, NGOs, etc.) from diverse cultural backgrounds.
• Excellent language skills in English (oral communication and report writing) and good language skills at a minimum in French (reading and oral communication)
• A demonstrated ability to undertake large evaluation projects under strict timelines
• No previous involvement in the implementation of the activities under review.
• The evaluation team shall: review key documents and undertake desk research related to the context and nature of the project to develop a draft methodology (or elements thereof) for the evaluation, in view of convening the evaluation steering committee (UNESCO and Sida representatives) to discuss a path forward; submit a finalized evaluation methodology and key events, consultations, etc. of the project to UNESCO for review; submit a short progress report (2-4 pages) to UNESCO detailing any key findings, challenges encountered and course corrections needed, and convene the evaluation steering committee to discuss progress and any issues arising; submit a draft evaluation report, according to the structure outlined below, including findings and clear recommendations for future programming (Annexes are not mandatory at this stage); Convene the evaluation steering committee to discuss the findings and take on board any comments or suggestions; submit the final report, including any Annexes and supporting documentation.

The evaluation shall be carried from 20 August to 20 November 2022.

Your electronic offer comprising of a technical and a financial proposal, attached in two separate files, should reach the following email address no later than no later than 12 August 2022, 23:59 CET: STI-systems.Africa@unesco.org without any copy to any other e-mail address, size of email not to exceed 10MB.